Have you ever had a negative view on a Retrogame then changed your mind and held the opposite view later on after looking at it more closely?

This has happened to me recently with Buggy Boy by Elite for the Spectrum. I thought it was a slow, clumsy mess of a conversion, but having played it again a few times, while it’s still a bit slow, it does have its own playability and is genuinely fun to come back to again and again.

Juncker, May and your view on the Amstrad, its games and Nebulus would have changed if you had tried to play games on a real Amstrad CPC

How does one do that though? You obviously don't want to be seen to do it in public, and buying one to do it at home leaves tracks more embarrassing than my search history. Even if you did go down the buying route, you're then stuck with an Amsturd in your house.

The question of Amstrad is a painful one. Painful because it's tough to admit that the Amstrad is the very poor relation of the three main 8 bits because it was saddled with slower, jerkier ports of Spectrum games most of the time. Even worse than that- Amstrad is the spawn of Sugar. It's a shame when you think about it. The 8 bit computer era was like a huge party, and being an Amstrad owner is like getting an invite but going to the wrong address and visiting the Saturday night book club instead. Don't be too bitter about it.

How does one do that though? You obviously don't want to be seen to do it in public, and buying one to do it at home leaves tracks more embarrassing than my search history. Even if you did go down the buying route, you're then stuck with an Amsturd in your house.

You need to 'own' it with an Amstrad. Its a bit like going on a stag do and being 'the one in the dress'. If you end up stood on your own in the corner looking embarrased everyone thinks you're a bit weird. If you're going to own an Amstrad you need to do it dancing on a table whilst necking a beer and throwing your knickers at the girls by the bar.

Darran@Retro Gamer wrote:I've played all the Bratz games and Barbia Horse Adventures, due to having two girls and they are not rubbish in the slightest.

I'll probably be back once it moves to Discord. IRC is just so fiddly and out of date.

It's true, and we are in the process of moving to Discord, but katzkatz can't get his computer to work with it! Nobody can figure out why. Anyway folks, click on the link for now and you'll be directed to the chat just as before

For this week, I think I'll use the debate that has broken out here as inspiration. It's about the child of Sir Alan Sugar: the Amstrad CPC464. Some see it as the 'dark horse' of the big three, lurking in the background behind Spectrum and Commodore while having the best versions of many cassette games in the eighties. Others see it as a cynical attempt to cash in on the computer games boom by an arrogant bearded censored with an awful looking piece of cheap censored. The games are criticised by some for being inferior Spectrum ports, and the monitor was derided for its greenness. Is the truth somewhere in between? That is the topic:

Does the Amstrad CPC464 deserve to be taken seriously??

Click this link and you will be directed to the chat anytime after 9pm. It might be mibbit, it might be discord, but just click on the link anyway!!

I actually remember a guy I knew at school in the 80s who was very coy about video games. He claimed he had a Spectrum, but he said he played Alleykat on it, which couldn't be true because it was never released on the Spectrum. Even though he had a Goodmans video recorder and said his favourite colour was green, I never suspected. Then years later after a few drinks, he finally came out and admitted he was Amstrad. I was genuinely shocked because his behaviour never suggested it to me. It just shows-you can never really tell, though some people are better at hiding it than others.

Anyway, the chat is on again from Sunday 9pm. Follow the link in my signature and you'll be directed to the right place. You can censored off Amstrad some more. And Darran, you can come on too and explain why Amstrad is the first name on the list of machines on the front cover of Retro Gamer. That should be fun hahahahaha -see you then

This week's retro chat will be inspired by the story of the brave muslim woman who wants to come back to Britain after five years being oppressed by Islamic State. So tonight's hot topic is the following:

What is your favourite retro game in which you kill enemies with a huge sword?

We are on from sometime after 9pm tonight, so I hope you will join and provide us with somebody to laugh at. The link is in the signature of this post. See you then!

Hey guys!! Your favourite moderator Buck Bullshit is here filling in! I like big bucks and I like to talk bullshit, so here I am!! Yes, I have been away on an intensive Core Competency training course, but I am now feeling suitably empowered!! We delivered on pressing migrations, and the infrastructure is tended!!

One other question has been asked, and I am happy to deep dive to provide the answer!!

Q: Do you believe the forums are on their way out?
A: So, while the new theme is tentative, and platform migration can be subject to growth hacking, you can be rest assured that the C-Suite regard forums as legacy structure relevant in the advertainment world - stay tuned for bleeding edge upgrades!!

We are now officially moved over to the Discord application. The link is in my signature - see if you have the necessary IQ to get in by following the instructions and obtaining access to the chat. It's on again from 9pm tonight. I'm waiting for you all!!

I should let everyone know just in case you weren't aware - legendary ex-videogame journalist Stuart Campbell lost his defamation case against the Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale. He said he was "deeply distressed" by Dugdale claiming he was homophobic. Stuart is a sensitive person who is of course much more careful when describing people so as to avoid upsetting them. That is why after the court proceedings were over, he described Dugdale as "an idiot who doesn't understand English".

I am so upset for him. His genius has been tainted. And yet, people continue to suggest for some reason that he is a self-absorbed, semi-autistic sociopath with a narcissistic personality disorder. I simply don't understand it. Just look at these pictures of him. His expression is full of a love of people and life:

Then:

Stuart-Campbell3.jpg (13.47 KiB) Viewed 69 times

Now:

campbelltwat.jpg (12.61 KiB) Viewed 69 times

As a tribute to the man, he is the inspiration for this week's hot topic:

What do you think is the single most ugly games console or computer ever designed?

The original Amstrad CPC464 is classic Alan Sugar material: garish coloured buttons, horrible blocky case, terrible font style on the front. It was awful. The original Japanese Nintendo looks pretty bad too. The Intellivision has dated beyond forgiveness. But what do you think? Let us know from Sunday 9pm on discord. The link is in my signature. We can also talk about Sexy Stuart as well. Hope to see you there!!!